Friday, January 15, 2010

Earth Clinic's posts on Tumeric


A while back I signed up for Earth Clinic's randomly appearing newsletter, and recently one showed up in my mailbox. There were two interesting reader-supplied commentaries on tumeric. I thought I'd share them with you.

Earth Clinic is a site that takes in home remedies that are supplied by readers from around the world. It's a great website to research some of these cheap but effective home remedies. I've written about some of the home cures from Earth Clinic in the past. This is another one like that. Anyway, tumeric. I've never gotten into Indian cooking much so I haven't used much tumeric in my cooking, though that may change! I've used it not only for its flavor, but many times also for it's lovely yellow coloring of foods, especially rice dishes. After reading all I have about tumeric as a medicine, I'll probably start using it a lot more.

Here's the two threads on tumeric from the EC January newsletter:

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR AND TURMERIC FOR MULTIPLE CURES

07/08/2009: Chris from Dighton, MA writes: "I use 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegarin 5 oz. of water per day.I also use 1 teaspoon of turmeric in 5 oz. of water per day.*I had extreme diarrhea, it has gone away.

*My stomach upsethas gone away.

* My blood pressure was 145/90, now it is 120/80.

*I had cholesterol of 260. HDL of 42 and LDL of over ahundred. It is now 190 total and a HDL of 89 and LDL of 100.

* My lower back pain is gone.* My long distance eye sight has come back and I no longer need glasses.*

My tinnitus is still with me though. I am 68 years old."

And the other, which is longer and more interesing:

MULTIPLE CURES WITH TURMERIC

06/08/2009: Pcline from Springfield, Ohio writes:
"Turmeric has controlled almost all of my health issues! I am amazed! It was given to me by a relative when I fell on the ice, to prevent swelling and inflammation in my injured knee, and while it appeared to make a difference (I continued to be able to walk, and the pain and swelling abated quickly) the most wonderful thing that emerged was that I realized about a week later that the my whole sinus/allergy issue was clearing up. I had been taking at least one Zyrtec and often either more Zyrtec or other sinus medication every day for over 18 years to keep the ever-lurking migraine away. I could not have gone more than 24 hours without taking the Zyrtec or a headache would start creeping up and my sinuses would begin to swell shut. First I saw, after taking turmeric for about a week, that I did not need any "back-up" medication, then I tried missing a Zyrtec, and to my complete amazement, I felt GREAT! No headaches!I can breathe! I cannot believe it.

I take at least a heaping teaspoon of turmeric (from the spice section of the grocery, although I am looking for it in bulk now) stirred in water as soon as I get up, and one in the evening. If I begin to feel any swelling during the day, such as when I am exposed to household dust, I take another teaspoon right away, and it eliminates the "headache creep". I stay ahead of the allergies this way, but if I cannot get turmeric when the swelling starts, and it begins to cause headaches, when I can get to the turmeric, I may have to take several teaspoon doses before it alleviates, leaving a half-hour or so before I take each additional dose, but IT WORKS! It has ALWAYS EVENTUALLY WORKED. I have not had to take more than three additional doses to stop what used to be RAGING migraines, causing me to have to go to bed and be debilitated for hours afterward.

I feel marvelous, but the additional benefits have been that I realize that my arthritis in my knees is all but gone! I can walk up stairs most of the time without noticing any discomfort at all! Finally, most astonishingly, I (and everyone I know who has begun to take this) have begun to LOSE WEIGHT! I determined after a bout of intestinal virus to eat less food at a time. (After all, I had not been able to eat anything for 3 days, so this was a good time to break a habit) This was just before I started taking turmeric. With the addition of the turmeric, I feel, I was able to eat less. Nothing else has ever made a difference in my being able to eat less and not feel ravenous and deprived. In just over 3 months, I have lost 48 pounds!!!! And I feel energetic, fabulous, lively and alert! I cannot say what actual physical role turmeric plays as a weight loss aid, but I don't care. I am 53 years old and feel better than Ihave in YEARS!

I have begun to try turmeric on everything that occurs. I got a spider bite and it began to itch and sting immediately. I washed it right away and put a band-aidwith moistened turmeric on it and in minutes, the pain and itch left, no sign of any bite. My family jokes that I would try to revive the dead by sprinkling some turmeric on them, but I cannot believe what a difference just taking turmeric has made with me."

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End of excerpts. Now, keep in mind that no home remedy works for everyone. There's no guarantees here, but if you start reading some of this information, you may want to try some of these yourself (and send your comments to Earth Clinic while you're at it). But for me, I'm certainly willing to give many of these home cures a try. After all, they're usually far cheaper than anything doctor-prescribed, many of them involve items you probably already have in your kitchens, and they're usually easy to administer to yourself. And with the hideous monster "health" bill working its way through Congress's ugly intestinal process, we'll all need safe and effective remedies we can use when no one can ever afford allopathic medical care again. As P.J. O'Rourke says, "If you think health care is expensive now, just wait until it's free!"

Onwards,
HM

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have tumeric but the last time I tried to eat it in any food, it made the food so hot I couldn't eat it. It has been a long time since I ate any, maybe I will try it again..........
Charli

Patricia said...

Or you could try taking some in a glass of water, that's what I'll be doing...
HM

Chiot's Run said...

I do love turmeric. I try to put some in many of our dishes. I use it in most of my poultices for cuts/scrapes/insect bites. I always take it when I'm sick as well.

As for Charlie - I think perhaps you mistook curry for turmeric (both yellow). Turmeric isn't hot - but curry powder can be depending on the spices included. Turmeric should only add color and a slight flavor to dishes. It is a component in curry powder though, so they often look similar so they're easily confused.

Shanaya said...

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